Government’s Preparation To Renew Ncell’s License By Paying In Installments With Interest It is understood that the government of Nepal has started preparations to renew the license of Ncell’s mobile service with an annual interest rate of 10 percent. Sources close to the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Office have informed us that the government will probably take such a decision from the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
On the 15th of Bhadra, Ncell’s GSM mobile license will be completed for 20 years. Before that, the company will have to renew for the next five years. But Ncell has been requesting to renew the license by paying only 4 billion out of 20 billion rupees on 14 Jestha 2081 and paying the remaining amount in installments.
A source close to the company said, “In the background of renewing Nepal Telecom’s license when it reaches 25 years without interest, even if a private company is ready to pay in installments in advance, it is a bit discriminatory,” said a source close to the company.
It is understood that even though there is a voice that both companies should be treated equally, the government is preparing to levy interest only in the case of Ncell. However, it has been estimated that the 20 billion rupees paid late by Nepal Telecom may incur interest.
If that happens, the condition of having to pay interest on Ncell’s renewal fee may also affect the government company. Also, the license fee of 21 million, renewal fee of 20 billion, and royalty fee of 4 percent of the income that Ncell accepted for obtaining the license in Bhadra 2061 have become a constant headache for Telecom.
If Ncell has to pay even 10 percent interest on the renewal, it may have to pay five billion 600 million rupees with interest of 1.6 billion rupees in the next one year, including the renewal installment of 4 billion rupees. After that, it seems that five billion 20 million rupees, including installments and interest, must be paid by Bhadra 2083, four billion 80 million rupees by Bhadra 2084, and four billion 40 million rupees by Bhadra 2085.
In this way, Ncell, which pays the renewal fee in installments, will have to bear an additional burden of four billion rupees for interest only during the next four years. However, officials of the Nepal Telecommunication Authority say that 15 percent, i.e., three billion rupees, will not be charged for not paying 20 billion rupees for renewal three months in advance.
In the case of the facility of payment in installments, the four billion paid by the company should be taken as the first installment,” says Santosh Paudel, spokesperson of the Authority. “The subject of fines is applicable only in cases where installment facility is not available.